REVIEWS FOR BLACK

“Øvreås follows up his Batchelder Award–winning Brown (2019), originally published in Norway, with a similarly poker-faced middle volume. Hearing a standoffish new girl snippily claim that her mom is famous in America, Jack dons his homemade superhero costume and as ‘Black’ makes a like bid for glory by pilfering the mayor’s prize chicken—with the intent of returning it publicly and basking in the acclaim. But when he goes back to the shed where he’d stashed the purloined pullet, all he finds are feathers. Time to enlist his friends Rusty (‘Brown’) and Lou (‘Blue’) for detective work and a rescue! The spare narrative leaves much to pick up between the lines, and for readers who don’t quickly twig to the fact that Jack’s not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, Torseter supplies hair-fine line drawings on nearly every page of a round-headed lad skulking about looking generally befuddled or guilty. In the end Jack does bring the hen back to her owner but, unsurprisingly, gets neither credit nor a picture in the local press. No matter: A store owner’s comment that fame is less important than money leads to an instant readjustment of priorities. In the unfilled line drawings, Jack’s indulgent mother uses a wheelchair. More proof that Wimpy Kid–style hijinks are just as droll in translation.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Jack’s story is quirky, well-paced and fun, and the deadpan humour and seemingly unfinished illustrations will have you in stitches (we were laughing so hard at one point that we were crying). A perfect chapter book for emerging and reluctant readers.” —Maureen Tai, Stories that Stay with Us

AWARDS AND REVIEWS FOR BROWN (MY ALTER EGO IS A SUPERHERO BOOK I)

Winner of the 2020 Mildred L. Batchelder Award

Nominated for the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 2017
Winner of the German Luchs des Jahres (Best Children and YA Book) 2016
Winner of the Dutch Zilveren Griffel (Silver Pen) 2015
Selected as Top 10 Teacher's Choice by China Education Newspaper 2015
Winner of the Nordic Council's Literary Prize for Children and Young Adults 2014
Winner of the Ministry of Culture's Literature Prize 2013 (Best Children's and Young Adults Book)
Winner of the Trollkrittet Prize 2013 (Norwegian Children's/YA book Writers' debut prize)
Nominated for the Brage Prize for Children and Young Adults 2013

★ "Brown achieves a perfect balance between excitement and introspection, melancholy and humor … Torseter’s drawings, with the light washes of color that accompany them, deliver laughs and other emotions as needed.

Dickson’s translation is swift and assured. Sentences are direct, with nary an adverb to be found. Aside from the universality of its themes—death, bullies, friendship, and growing up—the book’s power and charm arise as much because of what’s left out as what’s included. The presence of technology, for example, is distant; this could be a story from 60 years ago, and the book benefits from the absence with an increased focus on its characters.

Brown is a wonderful book that deserves the many awards it’s received, among them the Norwegian Ministry of Culture’s Literature Prize. English-speaking audiences will eagerly await translations of the next two books in the series.”—STARRED REVIEW, Peter Dabbene, Foreword Reviews

"A reader doesn't finish Brown. One simply closes the book at the end of the words and pictures and allows it a bit of heart space in which to live."—Connie Griffin, BookWorks

★ "The simple pen and ink illustrations add greatly to this fun story of good vs. evil." —STARRED REVIEW, Katrina Yurenka, Youth Services Book Review

"Small, fine-lined ink drawings with color highlights on nearly every page supply this tongue-in-cheek escapade with evocative vignettes depicting Rusty's flights of fancy, quizzical-looking parents and other grown-ups, and masked prowlers in homemade outfits." —Kirkus Reviews

“The book has both suspense, good dialogue, as well as hints of magic. Rusty’s conversations with his dead grandfather are lovely, and all his characters have bucket-loads of charm … Bursting with attitude and humor, the pictures are as expressive as they are simple … recommended for anyone. The book is a highly charming tale of growing up, superheroes and the struggle for survival.”—Dagbladet

“In this enormously charming book we meet three little superheroes, each equipped with a bucket of paint … Øyvind Torseter’s beautiful drawings show us what it’s like to feel small and out of place in a big world. They also evoke the warmth of the friendship between the children. . . . Warmly recommended!”—Aftenposten

“The jury has rarely agreed so strongly about a decision as this one ... [Øvreås] writes so well for kids that you would think he has never done anything else ... a warm and bittersweet super hero story, which is also an excellent book to read together for kids and adults”—From the jury statement, Trollkrittet Prize (Norwegian Children's and YA Book Writers' debut prize)

“Brown is a warm and powerful story of friendship and courage, full of creativity and everyday magic.”—From the jury statement, Nordic Council Children's and Young People's Literature Prize

“Øvreås provides fast-paced prose with dry humor in both the narration and dialogue, but he also sensitively deals with Rusty’s sadness at the loss of his beloved grandfather, which is beautifully captured. The cartoon-style pen and ink illustrations by Torseter add real depth to the story in their humor and expressiveness of the characters.”—Deborah Hallford, Outside In World

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Brown